Los Angeles man, arrested with guns and drugs in stolen RV at Washington State park, sentenced to 10+ years in prison

Tacoma – A 45-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 126 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Anthony Morales was arrested in May 2021 and pleaded guilty in November 2022. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle imposed five years of supervised release to follow prison.

According to records filed in the case, Morales conspired with others to use a stolen RV to transport and sell methamphetamine and other drugs. Morales was arrested in the stolen RV in Grayland Beach State Park. Inside the RV was more than a kilo of methamphetamine, counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl, five firearms, assorted ammunition, and high-capacity firearm magazines. Law enforcement also recovered $24,000 in cash. Morales also had a number of identity theft related documents – drivers licenses, Social Security cards in other names, a passport, checkbooks and credit cards in other names, as well as a credit card magnetic stripe reader/writer.

Morales has eleven previous convictions as an adult for crimes such as possession of controlled substances, firearms possession, theft, and identity fraud offenses. He has been sentenced to prison for terms ranging from two years to 32 months.  Prosecutors recommended an 11-year prison term for this federal offense. 

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (JNET), comprised of officers with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Centralia Police Department and the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Max Shiner.